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2007/11/26, 10:36 PM
I have received some emails on sparkpeople about my recent pictures and how nice my abs shaped up...and they wanted to know how i DID IT..so i posted a blog entry that i thought i would share here...im not the best writer but i think it might help some newcomers with the truth behind *abs*
1) POSING- so, yes, i am sucking in my stomach really super tightly in my pictures. and let me tell you, those girls you see in those fitness magazines are doing it as well....The art of bodybuilding and figure competition is to tighten/flex your muscles as tightly as possible but looking as natural as possible...also, some, not a whole lot, but some of those pics ARE airbrushed from time to time... During my training I was told to focus on my posture. Poor posture can contribute to a "pot belly" look, while good posture can add to a trimmer-looking physique. Good posture consists of a slight bending of the knees, contracting the abdominal muscles to point the tailbone toward the floor, and keeping your shoulders back and your head balanced on your neck (not leaning forward). Think of a string attached to your head which is being pulled upward. Better posture will make you feel taller and slimmer.
2) DIET!!!- abs come primarly from the kitchen(quoted from BB1FIT)...eating very very *clean*....during the time I had the one picture taken(pink and black outfit) I was about 4-6 weeks away from my comptition..and of course the one in the green was competition day.....This requires a really really strict(somewhat unhealthy)diet..
You wont see your 6 pack or even a 4 pack til your under 10% bodyfat(could even be less)...which for the avg person isnt necessarily healthy....our bodies need SOME fat...
3) GENETICS- some ppl tend to carry less body fat naturally than others...and of course women tend to carry more bodyfat than men...I tend to carry most of my fat around my middle and lower back.....you dont know how hard it was to get my stomach to get down to even that flat...and i will proabably never get a 4 pack let alone a 6 pack...Our abdominals aren't designed to be flat. Instead, the abdominal muscles form a rounded, not flat, shape.....even at a low % of bodyfat I still had a pooch...i dont care how FIT and LEAN a human is..they will have a POOCH....and also because i lost so much weight I had loose skin folds..which i swore, at the time, was still fat...lol...I read in a fitness magazine article once , where a fitness professional confessed that she would genetically never get a *pack* of anykind..and I believe that...
4) Exercise- like i mentioned before ab exercises won't reduce fat from your waistline, your diet will....its been debated many times over whether you should work your abs everyday...or you should give them a break like your other muscle groups...Im a believer that you can work them everyday...that you cant overtrain them....because, first of all, we use them everyday..to stand up, to sit down, to bend over, to lift, to pull..(again this is disputed and is the side i take)
there are 4 ab muscles...your upper, lower, obliques and your transverse abdominals. The transverse abdominal muscle runs around your body..basically holding everything together...pilates are great in working the transverse abdominal muscles...like the plank exercise and dolphin pose...
any crunches primarly work your upper abs..leg lifts, v-up exercises and reverse crunches work the lower abs...and twist crunches, side bends, pendelum, and bicycle crunches for obliques.....
I do two exercises of each abdominal muscle everyday....3 sets of 15-25 of each...no NEED to add weight(but you can if you want to)..and its not about how fast you can do them...go slow and suck it in!!!..make it intense...
and thats it!!! no magic..nothing hard....just consistancy, good eating habits(i hate the word diet), dedication and embrace your pooch :p
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I am proof there isnt a *set point* :D
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